Dredge



(No Model.)

J. H. KUONI. DREDGE.

No 468,201. Patented Feb. 2, 1892.

BY MM ATTORNEYS W/TNESSES A I Pawns 00.. mq'rmumo wAsmNsYOM u c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN II. KUONI, OF MARYSVILLE, KANSAS.

D R E D G E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,201, dated February 2, 1892.

Application filed May 13, 1891- Serial No. 392,634. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. KUONI, residing at Marysville, Marshall county, and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Glam-ShellBuckets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates, generally, to dredges, and more particularly to that class thereof known as clam-shell dredges, the object of my invention being to provide a dredge of this class that shall be simple in construction, easy to operate, and particularly adapted for cleanin g wells and the like.

With these objects in view my invention consists in the detailed construction of parts and their novel combination or arrangement, all of which will be fully explained hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a cross-section with the shovels down. Fig. 2 is a similar view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view with the shovels drawn up.

In carrying out my invention I employ a bottomless box or receptacle A and dredgershovels B B, pivoted to opposite inner sides of said receptacle, the lower ends of the shovels projecting below the lower edges of the receptacle. A rigid arched bail C is attached at its ends to opposite ends of the receptacle, and at the center of said bail is produced an elongated loop or aperture 0, the major axis of said loop being parallel with the dredgeshovels. A flat rod or bar D is passed through the loop 0 and rests with its fiat faces parallel with the dredge-shovels, and to the upper end of said rod is attached arope or chain E, while chains F F are attached to the lower end, the outer ends of said chains being connected with the inner faces of the shovels near the lower ends of the same. Stops G G are arranged in the receptacle A upon the inner faces of the opposite ends near their lower edges, said stops serving to limit the inward and upward movements of the shovels, whereby a bottom may be produced for the receptacle A.

A locking-bar H is pivoted to the inner face of one of the shovels and is adapted to swing down upon the opposite shovel, holding the shovels open when the dredge is descending. The locking-bar is of a length somewhat less than the width of the receptacle, and at its free end is provided with an arm h, pivotally attached to the end of the bar, said arm hearing upon the opposite shovel and locking the same in an opened position. I

An arm I-I, essentially right angular in shape, is rigidly secured at one end to the central portion of the locking-bar II, the free or outer portion of the arm being parallel with the said locking-bar, extending toward the free end of said bar, but lying within a different vertical plane. The flat rod or bar D works between the locking-bar and. its attached arm, a spring-actuated trigger-finger K being pivotally secured to the lower end of said rod or bar and adapted to engage the arm 11 as the rod is raised, thereby lifting the locking-bar, unlocking the shovels, and permitting them to be brought together by the chains F F, attached to the rod D. Stops 7c 70 are arranged above and below the trigger to limit the movement of the same. The arm 7L, being pivoted to the end of the locking-bar, turns upon the pivot, thereby yielding easily. 7 5

In operating my improved dredger the shovels B are opened and the free end of the locking-bar II is turned down upon the opposite shovel, the lock-arm h being arranged in alignment with the bar, the rod D and chains F being drawn above the locking-bar II. The bucket is now ready to descend, and when it reaches the bottom the momentum will carry the rod D downward, the lower end passing between the locking-bar and its attached arm, 8 5 the pivoted trigger-finger permitting the same, and when the chain E and rod D are elevated the trigger-finger engages the arm H, unlockin g the shovels, which are drawn together by means of the chain,thus elevatinga quantity go from the bottom.

If desired, the bail may have its ends extended down into the receptacle and form the stops for the shovels, as shown in dotted lines, and, if desired, a rod may be rigidly secured to the receptacle for forcing it down in shallow and heavy dredging.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a dredge, the combination, with a bottomless receptacle, of the shovels hinged to the opposite sides thereof, the arched bail secured to the opposite ends, said bail having ceptacle, of the shovels hinged as described, the stops attached to the ends of the receptacle, the arched bail carrying an elongated loop, the flat rod, the chains connecting the rod and the shovels, the locking-bar, pivoted arm, and an attached bent or angular arm, the pivoted trigger-finger arranged upon the rod, and the stop arranged below the said trigger, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN H. KUONI.

Witnesses:

E. E. STEVENS, WM. WJREDMOND. 

